03/26/13 03/26/13 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] >> from pacifica, this is "democracy now!" most important, ernie knows we can produce more energy and grow our economy while still taking care of our climate. >> as president obama nominates ernest moniz to head the energy department, the mit nuclear physicist is facing criticism for its deep ties to bp, general electric, and other major firms. you will also look at frackademia, what some call gas industry funded academic research.

then, "die free: a heroic family tale." you asght i stand before the crowd great great great granddaughter of african who was in slaved in the united states of america until he summoned the courage to fight for his freedom. marksthe united nations at the international day of remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade, we will speak with ny1 anchor cheryl wills about her family's story from slavery to freedom. all of that and more coming up. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. the u.s. supreme court will hear arguments today in the first of two historic cases that could determine the future of same-sex marriage. today the court will take up

california's same-sex marriage ban, proposition 8, and consider whether same-sex couples have a constitutional right to get married. on wednesday, the supreme court will hear a second case that challenges the defense of marriage act, signed by president bill clinton in 1996 which denies federal benefits to married same-sex couples. the united states has formally handed control of bagram prison to afghanistan following more than a year of delays. the detention center has been dubbed the other guantanamo after reports of prisoners being tortured and abused there. the exact term of the transfer deal remains shadowy, but the u.s. has reportedly received assurances from afghan officials they will not release prisoners deemed to pose a security threat. the u.s. will continue to play a role in determining which prisoners are released and will remain -- maintain custody of some unknown number of afghan prisoners and about three dozen non-afghan prisoners.

at monday's ceremony, the commander of the nato forces in afghanistan stressed the enduring u.s. role there. >> the ceremony to transfer the detention facility is important, but what is most significant is the broader political security transition process. it is a small step toward a transformation that will occur in the years ahead. and let there be no doubt, transformation for those that wear the uniform of the united states does not mean the end of the mission or abandonment. our mission is changing, but our commitment is in during. >> within hours of the transfer, secretary of state john kerry appeared alongside president hamid karzai during an unannounced visit to afghanistan. he said the backroom deal protect both u.s. interests in afghan sovereignty. >> as of today, we do not have prisons. what ever is occurring here is under the control of the afghan

people and the nuts -- the united states will cooperate with the government of afghanistan. >> john kerry's visit to afghanistan appeared aimed at easing public tensions following allegations of abuses by u.s. special forces in wardak province and president karzai's widely reported suggestion the u.s. is colluding with the taliban. president karzai said monday his words had been misinterpreted. >> the media took that to say that's i say there is a collision. i never used the word collusion between palestine and the u.s., and those were words picked up by the media. >> afghanistan was rocked by explosions today on the second day of john kerry's visit. at least eight suicide bombers reportedly attacked a u.s. -- attacked police force headquarters in the eastern city of jalalabad, killing five police officers. the united nations is removing half of its 100 international

staff from syria following heavy fighting in the capital damascus. an additional 800 syrian staffers have been told to work from home temporarily. a spokesperson for u.n. secretary general ban ki-moon made the announcement monday. >> yesterday and today a number of mortar shells fell in close proximity to and on the grounds of the hotel in damascus housing human staff. it caused some damage to the building and some cars, including one u.n. vehicle. the nine nations secured management team has assessed the situation and decided to temporarily reduce the presence of international staff in due to security conditions. >> a syrian opposition leader is calling on the united states to more directly intervene in the conflict by using missiles to protect rebel-held areas. moaz al-khatib made the comment that the arab league summit in doha as he took over a seat

previously held by the syrian government. the league had transferred the seat to the opposition sunday. al-khatib attended the summit despite announcing days ago he is quitting due to lack of global action on syria. two jailed bahraini activists are on hunger strike and refusing fluids after being denied visits from their family. zainab al-khawaja was sentenced to three months in jail earlier this month for insulting a public official. she has been on hunger strike for more than a week and began refusing fluids on sunday, putting her life at imminent risk, according to the bahrain center for human rights. her father is serving a life term for his role in the pro- democracy uprising and is also said to be on hunger strike. zainab al-khawaja released a letter writing --

you can go to democracynow.org to see the interviews with zainab al-khawaja when she was out of jail. the united states and south korea have signed a new military pact outlining future responses to north korea. the pact reportedly promises u.s. support of south korea retaliates for border incursions and other low-level offenses. north korea has issued a new round of threats against u.s. military bases over the flying of u.s. b-52 bombers during military drills with south microsoft has admitted the fbi is using secretive national security letters to spy on its customers without obtaining a warrant. the news follows a similar announcement by google earlier this month which marked the first time a u.s. company has admitted receiving the secretive requests for user data. the letters, the gag order that bars the recipient from talking about them. earlier this month, a federal

judge ordered the government to stop issuing the letters, ruling they are unconstitutional and giving the obama administration 90 days to appeal. officials said three guantanamo prisoners have been hospitalized for dehydration amidst nearly two-month long strike -- hunger strike that defense lawyers say includes the overwhelming majority of detainees. the military said monday 28 prisoners have refused enough meals to be officially deemed on hunger strike. 10 are being force fed. the lawyers contest those numbers, saying most of the prison's 166 prisoners are on hunger strike over intrusive searches and the continued detention without charge following unmet promises by obama to close the prison. the lawyers say multiple prisoners have lost roughly 30 pounds. army captain jason wright told the associated press an afghan prisoner named obaidullah has lost 36 pounds and appeared dizzy and fatigued last week.

obaidullah to learn and hear our reports on the hunger strike, you can go to democracynow.org. a new study commissioned by nato says a joint u.s.-israeli cyberattack launched on iran's nuclear facilities was an act of force that likely violated international law. a group of 20 international researchers reportedly agreed unanimously that the launch of the cyberworm stuxnet several years ago constituted an act of force which is prohibited under the united nations charter except in cases of self-defense. some even thought the worm constituted an armed attack which would mark the start of a conflict and entitle iran to use force to defend itself. human rights groups are criticizing the united states and other countries acting to weaken a draft of what could be the first-ever global arms treaty. negotiations began at the u.n.

in new york last week for a treaty to regulate the $70 billion trade. earlier talks collapsed last year when the u.s. as well as russia and china said they needed more time. on monday, the head of the arms control for oxfam said the new draft is too weak. >> it is not good enough. this is not the treaty we have been campaigning for for 10 years. this is not the treaty that is going to save lives and protect people. the loopholes must be closed. voicesst listen to the of the majority weapons and repeatedly during this first week of negotiations, indeed, discussions over the weekend, what they want to see in the treaty. and why this must be a treaty with very comprehensive scope of what is covered and very tough and clear rules by which governments assess whether or not to authorize an arms

transfer. >> a new study confirms how deeply gun deaths in the u.s. are shaped by race. the washington post reports african americans are more than 10 times as likely to be shot dead as white people. whites are five times more likely to commit suicide with the gunmen be killed with a gun. but for each african american who uses a gun to commit suicide, five are shot dead by other people. a poll by the washington post and abc news says three-quarters of african americans support stronger gun control versus half of white people. hundreds of people protested at the state capitol building in north dakota monday over a series of anti-choice measures that could end abortion in the state. the republican governor has until thursday to decide whether to enact the country's strictest abortion ban, barring abortion after an embryonic heartbeat can be detected -- something that

happens so early many women have not realized they are pregnant yet. also on his desk is a measure mandating hospital admitting privileges for abortion providers and another measure that would make north dakota the first day to ban abortions performed because of genetic problems with the fetus. nyc mayor michael bloomberg is drawing attention for saying the use of domestic surveillance drones by new york city authorities -- and the erosion of privacy that could entail -- are inevitable. bloomberg made the comment in a radio interview. ,> a different world uncharted and like it or not, what people can do or governments can do is different and to some extent you can control the two cannot keep the tides from coming in. we will have more visibility and less privacy. i don't see how you stop that. it is not a question of whether i think it is good or bad. i don't see how you can stop that.

>> a new analysis by congressional research service says the u.s. spent nearly $4 million last year on expenses incurred by former presidents. the government covers pensions, office space, staffing, travel, postage and other costs for all ex-president's. the big spender last year was george w. bush, who cost taxpayers $1.3 million, including roughly $400,000 from office in dallas. former president bill clinton spent even more than that on his new york office space, and costs the nation just under $1 million in total last year. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. president obama as pick to become the nation's next energy secretary is drawing criticism for his deep ties to the fossil fuel, fracking, and nuclear industry. alabama nominated mit professor ernest moniz last month to replace outgoing energy secretary steven chu. >> i could not be more grateful

for the incredible contribution he has made to this country. and now that his decided to leave washington for sunny california, i am proud to nominate another brilliant scientist to take his place, mr. ernest moniz. there he is right there. [applause] the good news is ernie already knows his way run the department of energy. he is a physicist by training, but he also served as undersecretary of energy under president clinton. since then he has directed mit's energy initiative, which brings together prominent thinkers and energy companies to develop the technology that can lead us toward energy independence and also to new jobs.

most important, ernie knows we can produce more energy and grow our economy while still taking care of our air, water, and climate. >> the senate energy and natural resources committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on ernest moniz's nomination as energy second -- kercher on april 9. reaction to his nomination has split the environmental community. advocacy groups such as public citizen and food and water watch are campaigning against his nomination, but the natural resources defense council has praised his work on advancing clean energy based on efficiency and renewable power. much of the criticism of ernest moniz centers on his extensive ties to industry. in 2011, he was the chief author of an influential study for mit and the future of natural gas. according to a new report by the public accountability

initiative, ernest moniz failed to disclose that he had taken a lucrative position at a pro- drilling firm called icf international just days before the study was released. in new york we're joined by justin elliott, who recently wrote a piece called, "drilling deeper: the wealth of business connections for obama's energy pick." in los angeles, we're joined by kevin connor, director of the public accountability initiative, and nonprofit watchdog group which recently published a report called, "industry partner or industry puppet? how mit's influential study of fracking was authored, funded, and released by oil and gas industry insiders." we invited mit to join us on the show or send a comment to read on air, but we did not receive a response. kevin connor and justin elliott, welcome to "democracy now!" justin, talk about the record of ernest moniz. >> to some extent it is the classic revolving door.

as president obama mentioned, moniz was an undersecretary at the department during president clinton's second term grid after he went back to mit, he also took a number of positions on boards of large energy companies or advisory councils, including bp, a uranium enrichment company. i think there are two reasons this is important. some of these companies do business with the energy department and seek loan guarantees. the informal committee think this may conform how ernest moniz sets research priorities, so people are concerned he will call for research on fossil fuels to the detriment of renewables, for example. >> talk about his relationship with bp. >> personally, ernest moniz did a six-year stint paid, but bp

will not say how much, and bp's signs of an advisory council. it is not really clear what he did. bp does not have to reveal much about it in their filings publicly. at the same time, bp is one of the main founders of the mit energy initiative. i think they have given or pledged a total of $50 million over the past few years. he is clearly close to that company. >> how typical is this for a university professor? >> i think in the sciences particular and the energy secretary, it is increasingly common. steven chu, the outgoing energy secretary who is also an academic, had close ties also to bp. bp had given a bunch of money to steven chu's slap at the university of california berkeley and he picked an executive to be one of his undersecretaries. steven chu was later involved in

the government's response to the gulf oil spill. i think this is certainly, if you're going to be picking an academic who is involved in energy, in particular, fossil fuel research. >> i want to turn to comments of the executive director the natural resources defense council. earlier this month peter posted a to do list for the new energy secretary. and it he wrote -- nrdc is supporting the nomination m theoniz. >> i think the best way to

interpret his nomination is he fits in with what obama has called his all of the above policy, which is to embrace things like fracking, continued use of oil, nuclear energy but also develop wind and solar i think that is where ernest moniz is on energy. >> let's turn to our guest in los angeles, kevin connor, and what you found in your report. talk about the report you did that looks at the less well, the title of the report is, "industry partner or industry puppet? how mit's influential study of fracking was authored, funded, and released by oil and gas industry insiders." >> sure. nomination prompted us to take a closer look at an influential study mit did on the future of natural gas in 2011, issued by the energy initiative,

which moneys was the director of. gasil-gas -- put a very pro- spin on the extraction and said natural gas was the bridge or will be a bridge to low carbon future, said the environmental index related to fracking are challenging but manageable, and also endorsed natural gas exports, which is a very industry-friendly position to take. it prompted some criticism immediately from people who pointed to the fact the report was actually industry-funded, much like the initiative itself. it was extremely influential for policymakers. ernest moniz testify before congress on the report. it had immediate impact as well. it came at a critical time for the industry, which was facing significant questions about the

safety of fracking, relative environmental impacts of fracking, and we took a closer look at the study and found beyond just the industry funding of the study, there were significant conflicts of interest that when a disclosed -- conflictstself of interest that when un disclosed in the report itself but was not just funded by industry, it was also authored by industry representatives. >> kevin connor, a want to turn to a 2011 press conference at the mit energy initiative where ernest moniz introduced the study now under contention. in his opening remarks, he emphasized the report is independent of its sponsors and advisers. >> i do want to emphasize a disclaimer, if you like, that while their advice was absolutely critical, they are not responsible for the recommendations and findings.

we have not asked for endorsement. we asked for their advice and received it, but the results are our responsibility. >> later in the presentation, co-chair anthony meggs introduces the mit report's findings, saying environmental and pacs associated with fracking are "challenging but manageable." however, he fell to disclose he joined the gas company talisman energy prior to the release of the study. >> simple. first of all, there is a lot of gas in the world, and very modest cost. as you'll see, gas is still a very young industry globally speaking with a bright future ahead of it. perhaps of is the at this stage, though not so obvious when we started three years ago, shale gas is transformative for the economy of the u.s., north america, for the gas industry in

particular, and potentially on a global scale. thirdly, the environmental impacts of shale development widely discussed and hotly debated, and we use these words carefully, challenging but manageable. >> kevin connor, your response? >> it is outrageous for the energy initiative for ernest moniz and mit to pretend it is independent of industry. first of all, given the sponsors of the report are all industry organizations and companies like chesapeake energy. ernest moniz was attempting to say it was somehow insulated from the influence of these gas companies when in fact authors of the study such as ernest had industryggs positions at the time. is particularly

insidious. the fact he is saying fracking is safe for the environment when he had actually joined talisman energy, a gas company at one of the most active frackers before the study was released, so he is speaking to a roomful of journalists there and presenting a report designed to influence policy and not disclosing that he is on the industry payroll. that is perhaps the last person in that room who should be presenting at finding or having anything to do with authoring that kind of report. yet in my tea and ernest moniz thought it was a proper to put that spokesperson forward. it goes to the fact that in my tea was presenting an industry prohure here with a lot of gas, industry advocacy talking points and not revealing there were significant conflicts of interest here. >> justin elliott?

>> one thing to note, ernest moniz is getting a confirmation hearing next month as part of that, he has to release personal financial disclosure and have an ethics agreement that will become public. we should learn more about his current and recent involvement in these companies and possibly stock holdings and that sort of thing. i think the story's not over yet. >> we will take a break. our guests are justin elliott, a reporter with propublica and kevin connor, who has put out a from the public accountability project called, "industry partner or industry puppet? how mit's influential study of fracking was authored, funded, and released by oil and gas industry insiders." we will be back in a moment. ♪ [music break]

>> this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in october 2009, moniz introduced tony hayward, ceo of bp. it was before it delivered a speech at the mit energy initiative, six months before deepwater horizon will spell. >> faced significant challenges andhat time of transition these days is getting quite good press, i would say, in terms of having the company operating well, producing and maintaining, i think, its stance taken quite early in terms of recognizing the need and acting on the need to address climate risk mitigation, for example, with a

diversified portfolio. we're pleased to have bp here as a member of the energy initiative. in fact, the founding member of the mit energy initiative, and as the president said a few minutes ago teutonic, that confidence shown where we were going here at mit in terms of our focus on energy and permit was very, very important we appreciate that support and continuing relationship. a major presence in terms of projects academy with the sloan school, engineering, and in fact, i just heard the discussion a few moments ago that 300 up bp's 500 senior executives have one way or another interacted with mit, so it is quite a substantial relationship. >> that is energy secretary

nominee moniz speaking in october 2009, pressing bp ceo tony hayward six months before the bp oil spill. justin elliott? >> what surprised me when i was researching the story, the extent to which the mit energy initiative is working with industry. it is well known they and other energy research projects get industry funded. but if you look at their annual reports and even on their website they say if you give us money as a company, we will help you achieve specific business goals. and a lot of the coverage of moniz, he has been presented as an academic, but i think the traditional categories are failing aus. this really is part of -- it is not formally part of bp, but working essentially as a subcontractor for bp. president obama specifically praised ernest moniz's tis when

he introduced enbridge i think that is the proper way to see his background and who he is. >> kevin connor, i want to ask you about the broader issue of what some call frackademia, gas industry-funded academic research. in february 2012, the university of texas professor charles grow to published a study that suggested fracking did not lead to groundwater contamination. however, the study did not disclose his seat on the board of major texas fracker plans exploration and production company, for which was reportedly given $400,000 in 2011, more than double his university salary. i want to go to a clip of professor growth explaining his study's finding. concern ofdiate shell gas discussion was fracturing several thousand feet below the service would put chemicals into groundwater that people drank would be very bad for your help.

some people were opposed to it from that point of view. and important part of our study was determine whether or not there's any direct their fight evidence that hydraulic fracturing itself was producing contaminated waters that ended up in that process in groundwater. our preliminary finding is we have found no demonstration that that has happened. >> kevin connor, your response? when heu noted, groat was saying this had a serious stake in a gas company called made$1.6 million stake, several hundred thousand dollars going before the public in saying fracking is said without disclosing any of these related interests. there's some question as to whether someone with that sort of stake in the industry should be working on this at all, but the very least is to be disclosed to the public and journalists.

becauseid not this -- he did not disclose it, journalists were very concerned thist had not highlighted i for them and created media coverage. the university of texas in it up commissioning an external review of the study which concluded the study should be retracted and noted the conflict of interest was quite serious and should have been disclosed by groat. the sort of transgressions we have seen at mit have resulted in real accountability at other universities. groat retired as a result of this episode and the director of the energy institute of taxes, sort of an analog to the mit's energy initiative, the director resigned in the wake of this external review. there have been real consequences. there has been a pushback

against this trend at other universities. there's some question as to whether that will happen at mit. , talkng back to moniz about what he makes at mit both as a university professor but also his outside funding. >> i am not sure of his salary and mit. i don't believe it is publicly disclosed, though it will be released in his financial disclosures. as a board member at icf international, an oil and gas -- a consulting firm significant energy practice to a significant oil and gas ties, is made over $300,000 in the past two years since joining the board. this is a position where he attends several meetings a year, certainly not a full-time position and yet he is making

over $150,000 a year in stock and cash compensation. so these are not insignificant financial ties -- these are . >> moniz > is unclear if businesses. ernest moniz is a nuclear physicist. of cleanup in charge of nuclear waste. he is in a strong and public supporter of nuclear power. that is the area were some of these business ties into potential conflicts. as i mentioned earlier, he was on the council of a uranium enrichment company, one of the largest. they have been seeking a $2 billion loan guarantee from the energy department to build a centrifuge plant in ohio which has been on hold for few years while they look into it further. it will be interesting to see

whether moniz has to recuse himself from that or if it gets mentioned in the hearings. that is one of the big areas the energy department -- >> he wrote in 2011, it would be a mistake to let fukushima cause governments to abandon nuclear power and its benefits correcting electricity generation emits or carbon dioxide in the united states than does transportation industry. >> i think this is in keeping with president obama's energy policy. this is obama nominating some as energy secretary that is in keeping with the administration's policy. >> president obama has long been pro-nuclear power, in fact, was the one restarting a nuclear power plants after some 40 years of the last one being built. >> i think the only reason that

effort has stalled is fracking going down so low that nuclear power plants have become less economically feasible than they were five years ago. >> final comments, kevin connor, as he release your report, director of public accountability initiative, the report that you did called, "industry partner or industry puppet? how mit's influential study of fracking was authored, funded, and released by oil and gas industry insiders." has am i to responded? were you able to speak with prof. moniz? >> i did call the energy initiative, but was not able to speak with dr. moniz. the energy initiative did respond to a spokesperson with the statement that did not really speak to questions i had raised about how the conflicts of interest surrounding the report or managed and disclosed. one critical conflict of interest i did not know earlier, one of the study's authors was

on the board of a liquefied natural gas company and it was not disclosed in the study. the study endorsed natural gas exports. he is a $1.6 million state in the company. >> the national intelligence agency? >> they had no response, just of the authors are not biased, which is hard to believe given these connections. >> the former head of the central intelligence agency? >> exactly. former director of the cia was a study author here and is on the board of the only company in the u.s. to receive permits to export lng from the lower 48 states. again, the study thelng exports on fairly -- a fairly thin basis of evidence and did not disclose this connection, which is

really, again, quite outrageous. >> i want to leave it there and we will continue to follow the confirmation hearings that will take place april 9. justin elliott, propublica reporter and kevin connor, thank you for being with us. justin wrote, "drilling deeper: the wealth of business connections for obama's energy pick." and kevin connor wrote, "industry partner or industry puppet? how mit's influential study of fracking was authored, funded, and released by oil and gas industry insiders." we will have a link on democracynow.org. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. come back, we will be joined by a well-known banker here in new york, cheryl wills, who in this month of women's history month, and we just came out of african-american history month, we will talk about what she found about her family. she wrote the book, "die free: a heroic family tale."

stay with us. ♪ [music break]

performing friday night at the united nations general assembly in new york city as a mark the international day of remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. during the forever free concert, she dedicated her performance to

the nigerian literary icon chinua achebe, who has died at the age of 82. this is "democracy now!," democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. now to our final segment. on monday, the u.s. market sixth annual international day of remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. the almost 400-year period saw the largest forced migration in history. from 1501 to 1830, four africans crossed the atlantic for every one european during the inhumane .xodus, africans beginning with 18 to seven

back to abolish the slave trade and the emancipation the end slavery after four to six year period of apprenticeships. slaveholders act, revisited their labor management .trategies [indiscernible] in reality, this meant british slave holders monitored and interfered with childbearing practices in hopes of securing greater consumption rates and increasing the number of babies born and raised into slavery. inveholders are perturbing

st. women with men. they also increased from the ones who allowances, mitigated punishment and also women's working responsibilities and to "protecting unborn children." >> that was sasha turner speaking during an event that marked the un's's monday's international day of remembrance of the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. this year's theme is "forever free: celebrating emancipation." it is a reference to the 150th anniversary of president abraham lincoln's announcement in the middle of the united states civil war that declared free all persons held as slaves. two years ago this week our next guest spoke before the united nations, becoming the first journalist invited to speak inside the united nations general assembly hall for the international remembered the victims of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade. >> tonight i stand before you as

the proud great great great granddaughter of an african who was enslaved in the united states of america until he summoned the courage to fight for his freedom. , hisandfather, sandy wills story was lost from our family for 150 years until i logged on to the family research sites ancestry.com and uncovered records which revealed a story of bravery and dignity. sandy was purchased on a slave auction block when he was a mere 10 years old, snatched from his mother, his father, and all the people he held dear, and transported to the wills

plantation in henwood county, tennessee. during his stay, he bonded with five enslaved the waste. 13 years later, they all escaped together to go fight for their freedom as members of the united based outored troops of columbus, ky. they fought and sought freedom at last in 1865. but the story did not end there. , itsugh slavery had ended evil twin jim-crow took its place. and my grandparents, also born in haywood county tennessee, did not know, and jim crow taught them not to care about their african legacy. >> cheryl wills speaking two years ago this week that the

united nations. joining us now to talk about the family history she uncovered in thousands of documents from the national archives, especially the story of her great great great grandparents, sandy and emma wills. she details all of this in her book, "die free: a heroic family tale." cheryl wills is also well known in new york, an award winning anchor and reporter for ny1, time warner cable's flagship television news network and one of the founding staff of ny1 and a longtime anchor. welcome to "democracy now!" it is a privilege to have you here. continue to tell us this remarkable story and how you discovered it. >> for more than 100 years, my family had no idea who sandy wells was. as i said in my speech to the united nations, i found him online, which was remarkable, and it changed my life because this was a story that was in

powering. it was nothing to be ashamed of it tearing the jim crow era in the u.s., many african-americans were taught to be ashamed of their legacy, to be ashamed of slavery, to be ashamed they were forced year against their will. that is nothing to be ashamed of. it is a badge of honor they survived. when i found the records, i compiled it into an art of connecting it to my father who passed away at a very young age -- i compiled it into a narrative connecting it to my father who passed away very young age. >> when you say you went online and discover this story, what did you do? >> my father was a fireman who died in a horrific motorcycle vietnam-arab her to, died at the age of 38. when i was 13, i was like, who is this guy? all i knew as he was born in tennessee. i put in his last name and mine. >> and you did this where?

>> ancestry.com. can you believe it? i just wanted some connection. no matter how old leggett, i'm still that little 13-year-old girl sitting at my father's funeral the matter what i do in life. i wanted to know who he was, his grandparents were. wills.his last name was >> that was my biggest question. when i went on line, i found out when i got records from the national archives, edmund wills purses little send yet 10 years old, who was my great great great grandfather. >> how did you trace their from their? >> it turns out sandy with five boys bonded with them on the plantation. he was purchased about 1850. as they grew up, those five boys realized they were in and oppressive situation. slavery was very demonic.

they tried to make them think there were being taken care of and to be happy and don't worry about the troubles of the world. >> so he was given the name of his slave master. >> as was customary. all of these boys knew they were being hoodwinked. they knew there is something terribly wrong with the way there were living. when they grew up in heard about the emancipation proclamation being signed by president lincoln and the proclamation also authorized the enlistment of black soldiers in the formation of the united states paratroopers, they knew was there a chance -- >> usct. >> and when i saw that acronym next to sandy's name, that is when i hired a professional genealogist. tripled to double and confirm this. it turns out there was a definite link right from sandy to his son alex to my great grandfather alan to my

grandfather fred to my father clarence. it turns out those boys to gather in listed. >> there were all in slate? all have in the name of wills? >> as was the tradition. together they all left his plantation, crossed state lines into columbus, kentucky, and listed as slaves in the fourth heavy field artillery and fought for their freedom from 1863 and were all honorably discharged in 1866 after the civil war. only one died. >> what happened to sandy? >> like many slaves, he returned to the place he knew, hayward county, tennessee. he married and had nine children. >> this is women's history month. your great great great grandmother emma certainly made history. a talk about what she did. >> thank you for saying that.

she was a soldier in her own right. born a slave, sold twice, first to the west family than the moore family and a civil war happened and she found herself a free woman in 1865 in her late teens. she mary's this dashing civil war veteran named sandy. they have nine children. what is interesting, the history books do not tell you, she married in the home of the people who once owned her. i found that absolutely fascinating. i learned all of this from the records. she had a fancy wedding. they paid for it, apparently. >> she really paid for with all those years of labor. >> thank you for saying that. what is most interesting, someone gave her a bible. she was illiterate, as were most slaves. they were not allowed to read and write. they would equip them severely

or cut off their hands and they caught them even attempting to read a book. someone gave her a bible, presumably as a wedding gift. every time she had a child, she had the people who once on her right the name of her child in the bible. one might say what assistant a sophisticated thing to do. she did not do it once, she did it with all nine of her children. >> she wanted the date of their birth? >> absolutely. >> and she did not know her own? >> either did sandy or any of the former slaves no. she demanded that she is historic in that she is the first and hundreds of years of enslaved african women to be able to have a child and keep it. she knew, my children will not be sold. these children are special. these are the first children in

our area that we can keep you will not be sold on an auction block. so she had someone record their names and birth dates. it was a first, as you said. here is what is interesting. sandy dies about 15 years later, she's a widow with nine children. she appeals to the federal government for her penchant for herself and nine children. >> because he was a civil war veteran. >> and this was the beginning of the pension system for war veterans. she applies and the immediately project her, without missing a beat. she submitted his discharge paper. that was the one thing he capped when you his discharge, even though he was illiterate, the sergeant told them, do not ever lose this discharge paper. he kept it through his marriage living in a one-room shack, tomally a shareslave shack she the federal government. they rejected her.

she hired a lawyer. in the 1880's, that is very impressive at $10 for filing. her lawyers name was c.m. suite. it was the best investment i ever made. in these documents, i see how they gave her the runaround. i see how they did not respect her as a widow, as some of his has been sacrificed his life to help end the search of slavery in the united states, they could care less. they asked for all kinds of demeaning questions i provide proof of your birth. they knew she was unable to do so. provide proof of sandy's birth. they knew she was unable to do so. they hit her with what i call the jackpot question, provide proof that sandy's children were in fact born and legally yours and provide proof of their birth. she gave her lawyer that bible. she could not even read for

herself. she said to her lawyer, it is in here. get it. i have the people who once owned me write their names and birth dates in the bible. said, i the road -- she know the bible record is right. it was the most touching thing. what was more heart wrenching, at the end of every document, you see everyone else is beautiful cursive script, transcribing her deposition. she's going over and over, i married sandy, try to prove her existence in the u.s., and at the end of the document, she signs it with an "x," which reminds me of the forced world of the literacy. when i give speeches all the world, especially to students, i remind them, my great great great grandmother had been reduced to signing her name with an "x." when i am in new york city and i

see students dropping out of school -- that means they're not getting the message of the civil war. that means we're not teaching the civil war properly because knew of all- if you of the african americans were reduced to sign their name with an "x," you do the best you could be. documents?have these >> i have all of the depositions that were transcribed. that is how i found a remarkable family story with such detail. >> and she got hurt -- >> she won. they went back-and-forth british she did i get up. i use this story everywoman's history month as an inspiration. i tell women, especially, if my grandmother emma to do that as a former slave and a one-room

shack with nine children as a widow, there is nothing women cannot do. she was a womanist did not even know what that was. she was a feminist and did not know what that meant. but she asserted her right to be heard as a woman, wife, another. i find that very inspirational. i regret as a child i did not know this story. i regret i only found this out in my 40's, but i am grateful i found it out at all because my father died and did not know. his father died and did not know. you understand the gap in our history? so much has lost. >> we will continue this conversation after the show and will post it online at democracynow.org. you have been listening to the remarkable cheryl wills, author of, "die free: a heroic family tale." she is an anchor here in new york city in the time warner cable flagship network ny1. democracy now! is looking for feedback from people who appreciate the closed captioning.

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